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Thursday, 2 September 2010

ZARA E-COMMERCE WEBSITE - LIVE!

So I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the new Zara website, where you can actually buy online! It is a bit of a love hate thing for most I think, love that you can browse and buy online, hate that this could severely dent your bank balance more frequently!

I have said before that I'm not really one for buying clothes online as I'm still a bit old-fashioned and like to try on in the shop, feel the clothes before I buy them etc. However I am a regular browser online, and often go here to seek out styling tips and inspiration. Some of my favourite online stores / sites are, Topshop; I love the clarity of the site and how items are photographed, My-wardrobe; mainly because the items are all so lovely, I go here more for my 'wish lists' rather than what I'd actually buy, and I love the slightly newer Bunny Hug Boutique, they tend to stock a bit more 'edgy' products and style items well.

So, Zara did have a lot to live up to... and my verdict... I'd give it a C+. It does tick all the boxes for navigation, ease of use etc, but there doesn't seem to be, how do you say 'va va voom' to the site. The photography on the home page hints towards sexy, but then when you click to view the items, that is completely lost. The pages feel very flat, and nothing really jumped out at me. There seemed to be a few teething problems, as expected, i.e. pages wouldn't load etc but I can handle that. I don't need to buy anything this instant, but I thought the pages would have a bit more depth. There doesn't seem to be a lot of thought behind the design, more along the lines of, 'let's get this up as quick as possible to make sure we can start raking in the cash.'

They seem to have tried to add some added extras by uploading videos and have a magazine 'coming soon' so I guess I'll just sit tight and see what they can do with in a few months down the line. For now, it does the job, but I think I'd only really use this to buy something that I'd already seen in-store rather than by sold from looking at it on the screen!